"The issuance of the draft signifies the beginning of the end of China’s long march for a comprehensive civil code that began in the 1980s. The draft introduces seeping, yet incremental changes to the current civil law principles (promulgated in 1986 as a stand-alone piece of legislation). Once adopted, it will serve as the introductory chapter of the contemplated civil code setting out the fundamental principles. The NPC intends to complete this process by 2020, culminating with the adoption of the civil code. There will be intense legislative activities over the next few years when separate chapters covering different areas of civil law are to be drafted, debated and adopted by the NPC."

"Promulgation of the new internet advertising rules is a significant development in the Chinese government’s effort to strengthen consumer protection in the burgeoning e-commerce market here. Advertisers, advertising intermediaries, and internet companies all need to be mindful of the requirements of these rules, particularly in light of increasingly aggressive consumers and consumer groups."

"This regulation attracts great public attention against the backdrop of recent internet search incidents. It follows a recent trend by requiring search providers to provide technical support to government authorities. These obligations are similar to the legal obligations stipulated in the Anti-Terrorism Law and the second draft of the Cybersecurity Law. We expect that regulations on internet companies will be further strengthened and more rigorous obligations will be imposed on internet companies going forward."

"In addition to certain obligations imposed upon mobile internet application providers and internet application stores, the provisions also demonstrate the CAC’s intention to unify the administrative practice regarding business conducted on mobile apps. Under the current regime, different local authorities in charge of cyberspace related industries may apply different standards and rules on mobile apps. This is partly because that the current regime does not distinguish mobile apps from desktop apps. The provisions may result in requiring some enterprises that engage in mobile apps businesses to apply for an ICP license."

"This further consolidation of the business registration system represents another step in the State Council’s effort to improve inter-departmental information sharing and reduce bureaucratic inefficiencies. We anticipate further consolidation in the future."

"These rules have been issued in the background of a new round of SOE reform with the purpose of spinning off excess low-efficient production capacity (such as in the steel industry) and improving the competitiveness of SOEs through mergers and acquisitions or restructuring transactions, which may involve market players from the private sector as well as international investors. These rules provide more detailed guidance than the laws in the past on the special procedures for transferring equity or major assets of SOEs and notably also the issuance of new shares by SOEs to new investors."

"The measures are a new implementing regulation introduced by the CFDA following the new Food Safety Law, which was issued in 2015. The measures impose compliance obligations on food manufacturers and operators who participate in online food trade, in addition to providing detailed procedures for administrative investigations on unlawful activities relating to online food sales, including jurisdiction, investigation steps and penalties. The measures also specify obligations, such as information disclosure, orders to cooperate with the CFDA, and for the first time record-filing with the local FDA, of online platforms including both third party online platforms like Taobao and those set up and owned by the brands. As an important complement to the existing legal system, the measures will have a material impact on standardising on-line food trade activities."